Thirteen people have died from heroin and prescription drug overdoses in Garden City since January and of that number four were in their 50s.

Garden City emergency responders were dispatched to 12 prescription drug overdose calls and 41 heroin overdose calls since the beginning of the year.

The range in ages of the people who overdosed and died was from 22 to 59 — three were 22-27; three were 30-38; three were 41-45; and four were 50-59.

"Those dealing with this issue — police, fire and hospital personnel — certainly feel there has been an increase in Garden City," Police Chief Robert Muery said. "The heroin epidemic is here. We have seen a continued uptick in overdose-related calls in recent years."

Statistics from previous years weren't readily available.

Misusing prescriptions

Garden City police are trying to stem drug use surges with various programs, such as providing a prescription drug disposal box in the lobby of the department. Residents are asked to dispose of all unused prescription medications safely in order to keep these drugs from ending up in the hands of family and friends or on the street. The service is free and anonymous, with no questions asked.

Plans are also underway to have all police officers trained in how to administer Naloxone (Narcan), which blocks or reverses the effects of the opioid drug. Muery said his department is working on mandating all officers carry this lifesaving antidote at all times.

The Garden City Fire Department currently carries Naloxone on runs and has been on the front line of this increasing problem in the community, Fire Chief Cathy Harman said.

“Addiction is a terrible and stigmatized disease that affects not only the person suffering from addiction, but also their family, their friends and their community,” Harman said. “Naloxone has assisted us in saving numerous lives over the years. Saving a person’s life that has overdosed from an opioid gives that person one more chance at treatment and recovery.”

Garden City officials have also partnered with the community’s drug-free community coalition, Thrive, for the past eight years. Thrive, a division of the Garden City Community Coalition, has worked to bring alcohol and drug prevention initiatives to the Garden City community.

Through the Drug Free Communities Program grant, Thrive provides funding to the police department to enforce drug and alcohol laws in the city. Funding also covers the cost for disposal of the medications collected in MedReturn disposal box.

Since 2014, authorities have disposed of more than 1.5 tons of unused prescription medications in Garden City.

Thrive coordinator Megan Sheeran has been in regular contact with city officials regarding trends, resources and support.

"In order to combat this issue, we need information," Muery said. "We need to look across the entire country for ideas that work or don’t work. That sort of information gathering and support is one of the many things Thrive brings to the community."

Working together

Sheeran referred to the opioid epedemic as "a community problem — with a community solution." Opioids include illicit drugs, such as heroin, as well as prescription medications used to treat pain such as morphine, codeine, methadone, oxycodone, percocet and hydrocodone.

"Education is needed on prescription medication safety and disposal, especially among adults over 30," she said. "The average age of the individual at death from an overdose in Garden City is 40 years old. The prescription drug culture needs an overhaul, but unfortunately it is not going to change tomorrow, so how can we all keep ourselves and our families safe? Educate yourself. Get involved.”

In 2016, Garden City’s ninth- and 11th-graders ranked below the national average for underage drinking. Thrive members annually speak to high school health classes about the risks of drug use and its effect on the developing teen brain.

Teens who are ticketed with their first drug or alcohol violations are sent to the Family Resource Center for education and counseling, as opposed to being routed through the criminal justice pipeline.

The FRC provides education and support to parents and youth about substance abuse issues, all while empowering families to live healthy and fulfilled lives. Thrive also works with the local liquor and tobacco vendors, educating them on their responsibility to their community to not sell to those who are underage. Opioid safety educational packets were provided to all prescription prescribers in the community earlier this year. The information included the new CDC guidelines for safe prescribing.

“These are just a few of the coalition’s efforts, which have truly made Garden City a healthier place to live since 2008,” Sheeran said.

Getting hooked

Several studies show that prescribed opioids for pain, frequently from routine dental and medical procedures, can lead to later heroin abuse, Sheeran said. People who are prescribed opioids are at risk of getting hooked on them and, eventually, they need more and higher dosages to obtain their desired high.

One opioid pill can be sold on the street for up to $80, which is a habit that is often too expensive for many people to sustain. On the other hand, heroin is cheap — the going rate is around $10 a bag.

Heroin alone is not often the killer in the progression of opioid addiction these days, however. Heroin is being mixed with the synthetic opioids, fentanyl and carfentanil, which makes it remarkably more lethal to users. Carfentanil is 10,000 times stronger than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl, according to the National Institutes of Health.

A variety of affects can occur after a person takes opioids, ranging from pleasure to nausea, vomiting, severe allergic reactions and overdose, in which breathing and heartbeat slow or even stop.

Opioid overdose can occur when a patient deliberately misuses a prescription opioid or an illicit drug, such as heroin. It can also occur when a patient takes an opioid as directed, but the prescriber miscalculated the opioid dose, an error was made by the dispensing pharmacist or the patient misunderstood the directions.

Area churches are confronting the opioid epidemic in St. Clair County.(Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Also at risk are individuals who misuse opioids and combine them with alcohol or other drugs, resulting in sedation and respiratory depression.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Michigan ranks 10th nationally in per capita prescription rates of opioid pain relievers and 18th in the nation for all overdose deaths. In 2014, 433 people died related to heroin overdoses in the state.

"Each year, more Americans die from drug overdoses than in traffic accidents and more than three out of five of these deaths involve an opioid," Obama said. "Since 1999, the number of overdose deaths involving opioids, including prescription opioid pain relievers, heroin and fentanyl, has nearly quadrupled."

If you or someone you know is suffering from addiction, there is hope, Sheeran said. Call Detroit Wayne Mental Health Authority at 800-241-4949. They are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To get involved in these efforts, parents and teens can contact the Thrive Coalition office at 734-793-1868 or go to www.gccommunitycoalition.org for more information.